Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has told the press that he expects a similarly frenetic start from Celtic at the Metropolitano on Tuesday night, as they look to take a major step towards qualification.
Simeone’s side sit on five points, one behind Feyenoord and one ahead of Lazio, while Celtic have just a single point from the 2-2 draw between the two at Celtic Park. For the Bhoys, Rodgers has admitted that they need a positive result from the match, and after failing to qualify last season, Simeone will be wary of dropping points again.
“We have to face the game with the intent it deserves. It is in our stadium, we expect great support from our people, that plus that the team has. An opponent is coming that gets off to good starts and we want to live up to what the game demands.”
Simeone noted that he expected a similar approach from Brendan Rodgers’ side, and warned his own team that they were unfortunate not to have more reward from their away performances already.
“They did it it at Feyenoord the same way, and I expect the same. They have always maintained that spirit, they execute it in a good way and I don’t expect anything other than a start like the one at Celtic Park,” he told Diario AS.
“Celtic deserved more with Feyenoord and Lazio. There we see the numbers, we will probably get points from each other and whoever has the most consistency will go to the knockout round.”
In the face of that Celtic pressure, Simeone asked his side to replicate some of their good play from the first leg in Glasgow, stepping forward and getting their own players forward to put Celtic on the back foot.
“Celtic doesn’t give you much time to find the solution and in that state of not letting you think, they apply good pressure in your half. There, beyond not starting well, we did not have a bad first half and in the second we improved and took a step forward, getting more people into the box more often. The goal came, another could have come. It was an even match and with the sending off things broke in their favour, and we were waiting for the end. It will be hard, difficult, we will have to take the game in a direction where we believe we can do damage.”
Simeone’s side will no doubt be keen to react following a 2-1 defeat away to Las Palmas on Friday evening in Gran Canaria. It was an unexpected blow for Los Rojiblancos, who have been the form side for many in Spain, at least until that point. The fact that Koke Resurreccion and Antoine Griezmann were withdrawn on the hour-mark stood out for many as a sign that Los Colchoneros were prioritising this clash, although Simeone claimed that the changes improved his team.
